“Today we reward the champions of social sport who have chosen to focus on an objective that is not that of competitive results but that of educational action and values”.
This was stated by the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sport e Salute SpA, Vito Cozzoli, during the ceremony for the delivery of the “Mondonico Award” held this Tuesday in Rome at the headquarters of the ELIS centre.
The recognition – established as part of the Sport and Integration Project, created by Sport and Health with the Ministry of Labor and the Minister for Sport and Youth – is inspired by the figure of Emiliano Mondonico, footballer, coach and interpreter of the participatory dimension of sport .
In the presence of his daughter Clara and the project promoters, 10 technicians, 5 managers and 5 ASDs capable of interpreting, on and off the field, the social value of sport as a tool for inclusion and integration were awarded.
“To all winners – added Cozzoli – today we don’t just say “congratulations”, but “thank you” because they have placed the social value of sport, hospitality, inclusion, solidarity, integration at the center of their action, following the footsteps of Emiliano Mondonico. As Sport and Health we care about the social dimension of sport and, thanks to the Minister for Sport and Youth, we have been able to launch the Social Plan, also presented to the Head of State, which with its four public notices provides for a total investment of 16 million euros and will involve around 12,000 sports realities”.
Also present at the award ceremony were the director of the Directorate General for immigration and integration policies of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, Stefania Congia, and the Chief of Cabinet of the Minister for Sport and Youth, Massimiliano Atelli.
“I am honored to present these awards Atelli said. which recall the extraordinary figure of Mondonico, who was a master of sport, football and life”.
“I thank all those who have chosen to remember my father with this award, he too would be happy to see coaches and men of sport promoting important values” commented the daughter of the late coach, Clara Mondonico.
Andrea Bonfiglio (ASD Paperino San Giorgio), Furio Dioguardi (ASD Entella sitting volleyball), Massimiliano Ferrarini (ASD Judo Karate Club), Maria Grazia Fiamingo (ASD Cus Catania) received the “Premio Mondonico 2023”, for the technical category. ), Francesco Giusti (ASD Siena Baseball Club), Hassane Niang Baye (ASD Rinascita Refugees), Amalia Palma (ASD New Top Line San Marcellino), Ampelio Pillan (GS Alpini Vicenza), Claudio Pistidda (ASD Bulldog Rugby Sassari), Mirko Trasciatti (Unique SSDRL).
In the Managers category, the awards went to Mauro Bencich (ASD GS Bresso 4), Youssef Hezraf (ASD F. Marino/FCA/Unicorno Style), Paolo Laguardia (ASD PGS TAMA), Daniele Mariani (MSP Italia) and Elio Volta (CUS Parma ASD).
Finally, for the Asd/Ssd category, the winners were ASD Atletico San Lorenzo, ASD Centro Sportivo Pattinaggio Campobasso, ASD Circolo Olimpico Venezia Lido, ASD Table Tennis Olimpia Martina and the Novara Onlus Amateur Handicap Sports Association.
AWARD LIST
TECHNICIANS CATEGORY
- Andrea BONFIGLIO (PO): football coach, promoter of initiatives against racism and in favor of inclusion.
- Furio DIOGUARDI (GE): sitting volleyball technician, he is committed to promoting sport as a tool for the inclusion and recovery of people with frailty (disabled, imprisoned, drug addicts).
- Massimiliano FERRARINI (MI): karate technician, among various initiatives with a social purpose, he carries out sporting activities in schools aimed at preventing bullying.
- Maria Grazia FIAMINGO (CT): integrated rugby coach, a discipline he uses to improve the psychophysical well-being and quality of life of patients with mental frailties.
- RIGHTEOUS FRANCIS (SI): baseball technician, works to ensure free sporting practice for foreign athletes, promoting their integration and inclusion in the area.
- NIANG BAYE HASSANE (LE): coach of a football team made up of asylum seekers, fights all forms of violence and discrimination.
- PALMA AMALIA (NA): judo technician, carries out playful-motor activities for people with disabilities and economic difficulties, as well as free self-defense courses for local women.
- PILLAN AMPELIO (VI): a former cross-country skier and Nordic walking and rehabilitation gymnastics technician, he collaborates with various nursing homes by proposing recreational and motor activities for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
- PISTIDDA CLAUDIO (SS): rugby coach, coordinates various projects in disadvantaged areas where there is a strong risk of deviance among the youngest.
- TRASCIATTI MIRKO (PG): chess technician, uses the game inside prisons as a tool for the social reintegration of prisoners and the improvement of their conditions during the prison period.
CATEGORY OF MANAGERS AND/OR OTHER SPORTS OPERATORS
- BENCICH MAURO (MI): is engaged in football projects that aim to integrate foreign kids within the community.
- HEZRAF YOUSSEF (TO): he is active in various initiatives that use football as a tool for cultural mediation and social integration.
- LAGUARDIA PAOLO (TA): active for over 20 years in promoting cricket and badminton in particular, it has also used these sports as a means of aggregating and integrating foreign communities.
- MARIANI DANIEL (PG): engaged in the design and implementation of initiatives on social issues (awareness raising, fundraising, activities with schools, contrast to discrimination) through sport.
- HELIUM Vault (PR): Creator and coordinator of the GIOCAMPUS project, a central initiative in the Parma educational system which has inspired numerous projects at a national level, also due to its strong inclusive dimension.
ASD/SSD CATEGORY
- ASD ATLETICO SAN LORENZO (RM): Through its sporting and cultural activities, marked by the fight against hardship and marginalization, it stands as a point of reference and engine of social transformation for the neighborhood in which it operates.
- ASD SKATING SPORTS CENTER CAMPOBASSO (CB): It promotes concrete actions of social responsibility for the territory and the community through the implementation of projects mainly aimed at combating youth discomfort.
- ASD CIRCOLO OLIMPICO VENICE LIDO (VE): It collaborates with various non-profit associations in the area to promote, in particular, the sporting and social integration of people with disabilities.
- ASD VOLVO OLIMPIA MARTINA (TA): It is active in promoting sports as a means of spreading equal opportunities, respecting the rules and integrating the most disadvantaged sections of the population.
- AMATEUR HANDICAP SPORTS ASSOCIATION NOVARA ONLUS (NO): It has been operating for over 40 years with the aim of integrating people with physical and intellectual disabilities into sports and social life.